Index – Homeland – The guardianship institution in Hungary needs an urgent overhaul

Although many people confuse guardianship and guardianship, they are actually two different concepts: the former concerns minors, and the latter concerns adults with limited discretion.

The most vulnerable and vulnerable part of society are the people who live their lives under guardianship. Their caretakers take care of them conscientiously, but they face huge challenges in the maze of the law

– indicated in a statement the Lélekben Otthon Közhasznú Alapítvány, which is organizing a conference on April 27 in order to make the shortcomings of the system a little more visible. Among others, judges, lawyers, legal defenders, forensic medicine experts, and psychiatrists will take part in the event.

From whom should the affected parties be protected? From the dangerous environment, from themselves or from family members who pose a danger? What is the situation in Hungary? What does this institution do well and what does it not do? – the experts will answer these questions, among others.

Thought-provoking stories

The Lélekben Otthon Közshaznú Foundation reported several cases to the Index that indicate that there is a great need to spread knowledge about guardianship. Here are two illustrative examples:

• An elderly psychiatric patient’s boiler broke down. The caretaker tries to help, but the person concerned won’t let anyone into his apartment. In the specific case, the caretaker had to mobilize five people in order to somehow smuggle a heating engineer into the home of the person under guardianship to repair the boiler.
• An alcoholic suffering from serious mental problems does not spend most of his time in his apartment, but in the stairwell in front of the apartment building when his condition deteriorates on the street. When and how should the caretaker send the vulnerable person, who has absolutely no insight into the illness, to a doctor? Who is responsible for him in such a situation? Despite the fact that the caretaker is not a psychiatrist, it was finally possible to take the affected person, who was in a bad condition, to the hospital.

In addition to the fact that caretakers – who can be professionals or family members – face such challenges every day, their work is far from being appreciated by the current government, as the remuneration of a caretaker is HUF 2,000 per person per month (!).

“The problems and challenges are enormous. For example, if someone is under guardianship only in the health care system because they are demented or addicted, they can be exploited by malicious people, e.g. to buy a valuable phone. Another relevant question is what should happen to the trustee’s assets if his relatives die? It is also thought-provoking that if someone is being cared for in health care, how much does the caregiver need to be a health care professional in order to act responsibly?” – according to the foundation, it is time to clarify these issues.